Articles for March 2016

Hot on the heels of announcing the dates for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party it looks like Disney has announced the dates for their annual Christmas party in the Magic Kingdom. They seem to have announced these dates in a more low key manner (probably to not draw away attention from the Halloween party since that’s coming up sooner!). I actually can’t find the announcement on my usual sources, but Disney did in fact release these dates. Hit the jump for more on Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

It’s time to plan that trip to Walt Disney World! Disney has officially announced the dates for the 2016 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. This is one of the most popular (and my favorite) special event of the year at Walt Disney World. It looks like Disney has added more dates this year which will hopefully help with crowding and those who’ve already booked trips for the Fall. Hit the jump for more details on the dates & for details on revised costume policies for MNSSHP.

It looks like Disney is changing the FastPass+ lineup yet again. They’ve announced that fireworks & parades will no longer have FastPasses at the Magic Kingdom. This comes after Disney built a dedicated FastPass viewing area in the redesigned hub. I’ve always considered these FastPasses to be a bad bet since it meant you couldn’t get any additional FastPasses at kiosks since you had a FastPass tied up for Wishes.

I can see Disney using the area in the hub for desert parties or other separately ticketed events. Also this means that Disney won’t need to dedicate cast members to this area which in turn will save them money. Disney has been making cuts across all Walt Disney World & Disneyland Resort lately. I’d assume this is just part of those cuts.

After reviewing Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort (which is a deluxe villa resort) & thought it’d be good to do a review of a resort on the other end of the spectrum. I’d say that this review will apply to far more people than the Bay Lake review. Disney’s All-Star Movies is a value level resort in the Animal Kingdom resort area in Walt Disney World. The value resorts are perfect for those with large groups or those who want to maximize their time in the parks and use the hotel only for sleeping and showering. What did I think of the All-Star Movies? Hit the jump for details on the resort and my thoughts about whether you should stay there as well.

Well, the rumors that we reported on back in May is finally come to life. Disney has announced new surge pricing for one day tickets and increased the price of the multi day tickets for both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California. This comes on the heels of record profits for the Walt Disney Company, but is also possibly related to losses from the foreign parks and Shanghai Disney being way over budget. Hit the jump for more details on the new pricing structure will impact you.